Introduction

Fully lethal autonomous weapons systems or “Killer Robots”

What are they?

Weapons that can select targets and attack them without human involvement using artificial intelligence

Application
• Military use: Substitution military troops with machines such as autonomous tanks,
jetfighters or machine guns
• Other applications: Border control, policing and terroristic attacks

Countries developing autonomous weapons

• US, China, Israel, South Korea, Russia and the UK

Problem
• Lack human judgement to evaluate an attack and distinguish a civilian from a soldier

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 Current state of development
Automatic defensive systems Autonomous offensive system
The systems are generally used to protect personnel and Higher degree of autonomy like drones and unmanned combat
installations against incoming projectiles such as missiles, aerial vehicles. These type of systems autonomously search,
rockets, artillery fire, aircrafts and surface vessels identify and locate enemies but do not (yet) engage without
human authorization.
1600 2013
First landmine
BAE system Taranis (Raptor)
You can simply impress your audience
and add a unique zing and appeal to British demonstrator programme for the
your Presentations. Unmanned combat aerial vehicles
(UAV/UCAV) being able to attack both
1970 aerial and ground targets but is still a
protoype
Close-in weapon system (CIWS)
Short range radar guided active protection
system to defend marine ships
2014
2007 Northrop Grumman X-47B
Similar to the BAE but can land and take of
Sentry guns
on aircraft carrier ships. It will be
Automated machine guns, fire on developed to an unmanned carrier-
humans and vehicles launched airborne surveillance and strike
2011 (UCLASS) system

Missile defense system

Autonomous targeting for military Currently two type systems; automatic defensive systems and
defense, example Iron dome autonomous offensive systems, but they are no fully lethal autonomous
weapons systems yet that we know off. They are developed to take the
humans out of the loop because they don’t react fast enough. 2
 Influences on development

Economical development
• Autonomous Weapons Systems provide opportunities for
reducing the operating costs by switching from man power
to machines
• This gives economic opportunities for the development of
the Autonomous weapon systems.

Governmental development
• Governmental development: Strong influence on
investments trough millitray department and legislation
regarding autonomous weapons

Social development
Technological development • Non-governmental
• Artificial intelligence is developing fast with robots learning and thinking by organizations that are working
themselves to ban fully autonomous
• Increasing computing power of computers, more memory, big data, and high- weapons and thereby retain
speed communication meaningful human control over
• These developments make automated weapons systems possible and inevitable the use of force
which will revolutionize warfare for ever.
.
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 Future development
Nations developing
• China, US and Britain and many more we don’t know about
• Accelerating efforts to gain competitive advantages in science and
technology
• Futher weaponization with use of artificial intelligence inevitable
• AWS will alter the fundamentals of security and the future of humanity
and peace

No soldiers
In future wars no people will be fighting only AWS.

Arms race/wars
Development of Autonomous weapons in one nation could lead to an arms
race because others feel they have to develop them as well to protect
themselves. This development could lead to dangerous chain reaction
causing wars.

Types of development
• China is developing large autonomous submarines
• Britisch Army are developing new unmanned vehicles and robots
• US army is developing large ghost fleets of ships

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 https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archi
ve/2014/08/calling-autonomous-weapons-
killer-robots-is-genius/378799/
https://www.stopkillerrobots.org/learn/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/09/sh
ould-machines-not-humans-make-life-and-
death-decisions-in-war/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/
2019/01/14/the-weaponization-of-artificial-
intelligence/#65e1c8693686
https://www.militairespectator.nl/thema/tech
niek-ethiek/artikel/how-do-we-ensure-we-
remain-control-our-autonomous-weapons
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